Space Channel Sonic
by sonix3
Summary: When Sonic gets blasted 500 years into the future, he teams up with Space Channel 5 reporter Ulala on a quest to discover his hidden powers and why Purge wants him.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic or Space Channel 5. Sega does. And... yeah... that's all I got.... enjoy!

A blue hedgehog with red and white striped shoes was relaxing on the rooftop of his best friend's house. He yawned and prepared himself for a day of nonstop sleep. He was usually (and almost literally) bouncing off the walls with limitless energy, sometimes dashing around the planet five or six times. His name was Sonic, the fastest thing alive, and today, the most exhausted hedgehog in the galaxy. He had the task of saving his world from global domination by a madman named Robotnik, a.k.a Eggman, and it totally wore him out!

He regretted his lack of energy that morning. It was a nice, sunny day, and he would've enjoyed running with the sun shining on his face. Instead, (thanks to Eggman) he had to rest up for anything else the Doctor might try. He groaned and leaped off the roof, dashing inside his best friend Tails' home to find a nice, dark place to sleep. He settled himself on a wing of Tails' plane, stored away in the garage.

Unbeknownst to the tired 'hog, a figure in the distant future was watching him intently.

"So the 'blue blur' does need to sleep," he scoffed. "I thought he was boundless energy." He leaned in closer to the monitor, tapping his chin. He tapped faster and faster until he finally clapped his hands together. A grin stretched out on his face.

"I believe the time is right," he murmured, "to give Sonic a glimpse of the future."

Sonic saw a bright light through his closed eyelids. They flew open, revealing light-green eyes.

"Whu- what?" he said groggily. The light grew brighter and brighter, too bright for Sonic to stand.

"Aaaaaah!" he exclaimed as the light consumed him. It disappeared, taking Sonic away with it.

________________________________________________

Sonic found himself lying face first on swampy ground. He instantly jumped to his feet.

"Yuck!" he exclaimed in disgust. He glanced around his surroundings.

"Where, am I?" he asked himself. Everywhere he looked, he saw trees. He was in a forest that much he knew. He leaped up to the nearest tree and climbed to the top. Nothing but trees.

Suddenly, a ship moving at incredible speeds zoomed an inch above his head.

"Whoa!" cried Sonic, nearly falling out of the tree. He glanced behind him, but the ship had vanished. Another ship flying just as low came towards the blue 'hog.

"Maybe I outta hitch a ride on that ship and find out what's going on," he said to himself. When the ship came close enough, Sonic grabbed ahold of a handle conveniently on the bottom of the ship and took off on it.

On top of the very same platform ship, a young woman with pink ponytails and a white top and mini-skirt on was holding a microphone.

"Bonjour ev'one!" she said, "and welcome to my swingin' report show!"

'Report show?' thought Sonic. 'Is this a news ship?'

"My sources have spotted Purge and his Rhythm Rouges capturing innocent hikers and forcing them to dance. This is the same Purge that was last seen flying across the cosmos after he attempted to take over the galaxy."

'Who takes over a place by forcing everyone to dance?' Sonic stuck out his tongue in disgust. 'Even Eggman isn't that lame.'

"Ulala!" sang a voice behind her. "Sweet, sweet Ulala! Oh, how I've missed you!" The platform ship turned around so sharply Sonic almost lost his grip. 'Whoa!' he exclaimed.

"Purge!" cried Ulala. Standing on his own personal hovercraft was a man with crazy, white hair, pink and blue sunglasses, and a long, black cloak with the letter 'p' written on the side in white. Ulala reached down and pulled out her ray guns.

"You wouldn't shoot me, would you?" he teased, arms in a mock defensive pose.

"I'll do whatever it takes to rid the galaxy of you!" she replied, aiming the guns at him.

'I like her!' Sonic thought.

"CHU!" she exclaimed, firing. Purge's craft disappeared before the shot could reach him. He materialized behind her.

"Peek-a-boo!" he exclaimed, pulling out a ray gun. "I see you!"

Ulala turned around just as Purge pulled the trigger. A spiky, blue ball launched itself at Purge from underneath the platform ship. The laser blast shot at a tree, sending a swarm of startled birds flying. He almost fell off the ship, but Purge managed to regain his balance.

"What the-?" he exclaimed as the ball rammed into him again. Purge tumbled into the forest below him, only to be rescued as his craft flew under him. Purge helplessly clung to the edge of the ship as it flew away.

"See ya, Ulala!" he shouted over his shoulder. Soon, he was out of Ulala's sight. The blue ball landed on the platform ship next to her, uncurling. Sonic stood back up. Ulala immediately aimed her guns at the hedgehog, prepared to fire.

"Hold up!" cried Sonic. "I'm one of the good guys!"

Ulala cautiously lowered her rays.

"Who are you?" She asked him.

"Sonic," he replied. "Sonic the Hedgehog."

"Were you that blue ball that knocked into Purge?"

"Yeah." He sat down, yawning. "If I didn't act as quickly as I did, you'd be dead meat."

"Thank you, Sonic. I'm Ulala," she told him, but the blue 'hog was fast asleep. She smiled to herself.

"Fuse, I'm gonna head back to the station," she spoke into her headphone. "It's been a long day."


	2. Chapter 2

Sonic woke up and found himself in a soft, pink bed. He sat up, confused.

"Where am I?" he said to himself. That phrase alone sparked Sonic's memory. The events of yesterday came flooding back to him as he looked around the room. Ulala sat at the foot of the bed, brushing her hair. She smiled when she saw him wake up.

"Good morning, little guy!" she said cheerfully. "You sure are a heavy sleeper!"

"Is this your place?" Sonic asked her. She nodded.

"Welcome to the base of Space Channel 5!" she said warmly.

"You mean your news HQ?"

"You bet!" she replied. Sonic's stomach rumbled.

"Is there any place I can grab a bite to eat?" he asked, dashing out of the room before Ulala could answer him. He weaved through the hallways, following his nose straight to the kitchen. His mouth watered as the smell of pancakes and eggs hit him.

"Mmmm..." he breathed, running inside. He hopped onto a counter that was covered with food and literally dug right in. He never felt so hungry before in his life!

Ulala was worried that Sonic might run right into trouble, and was proved right as she rounded the corner. The chef was banging Sonic's head with a broom, yelling angrily.

"Steal ''my'' food, will you, you filthy animal!" he cried.

"Stop!" Ulala exclaimed, grabbing the broom just as the chef was bringing it down to slam Sonic. "He's with me!"

"This is your pet?" the chef asked her. Anger welled up in Sonic's chest.

"PET?!" he spluttered. "WHAT DO YOU THINK I AM?! A CAT?!"

"Calm down, Sonic," Ulala said. She turned to the cook.

"He's really hungry," Ulala told him. "Let him have this food. I'll pay for it."

"You don't have to do that," the chef said, relaxing. He leaned around Ulala to face Sonic.

"I apologize. I didn't mean to offend you."

"It's cool," Sonic replied. He grinned and gave a thumbs up.

"Love the food!" he said, grabbing the plate of food he was eating and running out the door. Ulala took a plate for herself and followed him.

"See ya!" she said, waving as she ran.

When she returned to her room, Sonic had already finished his plate of food. He shrugged.

"Sorry, Ulala," he apologized. "I didn't mean to cause trouble. I'm just..."

"Really, really hungry," Ulala finished for him, laughing.

Sonic laughed too. "Exactly!"

"Ulala? Are you there?" said a teen with spiky, pink hair. He walked into the room and took a good look at Sonic. "Who's that?"

"This is Sonic," replied Ulala. She pointed to the teen. "Sonic, this is Noize. He's a friend of mine."

"'Sup?" said Noize, shaking Sonic's hand.

"Hey," replied Sonic. Noize turned to Ulala.

"Fuse wants you ready. We're off to Cennenal to cover a robbery."

"Okay," said Ulala, heading out the door. "Sonic, stay here, I'll be back soon."

"No way!" exclaimed Sonic. "I'm not gonna miss all the fun!"

"Sonic, I'm just ''reporting'' the theft, not catching the crook."

"That's fine," the blue 'hog said, walking over to her. "You do the reporting, I'll do the catching!"

Ulala sighed in irritation, but smiled a little.

"You can come," she told him firmly. "But you gotta stay with me the entire time."

"Alright," Sonic replied shrugging. "Beats sittin' around."

"You think Fuse'll be okay with this?" Noize asked nervously.

"He'll be alright with it," Ulala said reassuringly.

____________________________________________

Ulala quickly found out that her boss was ''not'' alright with it, and he told her so on the way to the city of Cennenal.

"What are you doing?" he said. "It's not 'take your pet to work day'!"

"Sonic isn't my pet," she replied. "He's a friend. Not to mention that he saved me from Purge," she added as her boss scoffed.

"He really is back then, isn't he?"

"Yep."

"Alright," he said, sighing. Ulala heard a click and the connection ended.

"I like Fuse," Sonic said sarcastically. "He's a ''real'' cool guy."

"He actually is," Noize said, who was piloting the platform ship. "He just has... um..."

"Anger issues?" Sonic filled in helpfully.

"Yeah." They flew in silence for a moment before Ulala added, "He's really worried about our show's ratings."

"What do ya mean?" Sonic asked her.

"Nobody watches this show as much as they used to."

"Even though you saved the galaxy twice," Noize said bitterly. Sonic's eyes widened.

"You saved everybody's necks twice and nobody wants to watch you?" Sonic asked in shock. "I would've thought you'd have several fan clubs!"

"If there are any fan clubs, they're for Pudding," Ulala replied gloomily. "Comes from being a teen idol at one point in your life."

"Then I don't like Pudding!"

Ulala and Noize laughed as the platform ship landed. Ulala pulled out her microphone and motioned for Sonic to follow. He eagerly jumped off the ship to stand next to Ulala. Noize followed suit, carrying a camera.

"Good Morning, space cats!" said Ulala. "This is Ulala reporting from the beautiful city of Cennenal. I'm here in front of the jewelry store to announce a robbery by a red echidna, who stole the store's biggest and pricey gem."

Sonic's eyes widened in a mixture of shock and excitement. 'Knuckles is here!' he thought, leaping with joy. 'I'm not alone!'

"What's this?" asked Ulala, looking straight ahead. "There seems to be a disturbance. I... I think it's the thief!"

Sonic followed her gaze and spotted a red echidna with violet eyes clutching a green gem. A blue-haired policewoman wearing a cowboy hat had her pistol trained on the thief.

"Hand over the jewel, now," She said. "Let's not do this the hard way..."

"It's my job as guardian to protect the chaos emeralds!" replied Knuckles, holding the gem even tighter. "I won't hand it over!"

'Typical knuckle-head Knuckles,' he sighed in amusement. Then his eyes widened in shock as he realized what his friend had said.

"Um... Ulala..." he said, tapping her on the waist (he's too short to reach her shoulder!) Noize, with one hand on the camera, shook his head and put a finger to his lips. Sonic sent an urgent glance in his direction, but Noize had returned his gaze to Knux. Sonic balled his fists in frustration and leaped over to his friend's side.

"Sonic!" Ulala and Noize exclaimed as the blue blur reached Knuckles and the policewoman in a nanosecond.

"Ah!" she said, aiming her gun at Sonic. "So you're involved in this crime too, huh?"

"Sonic?" Knuckles said in an amazement that quickly faded into annoyance. "Should've known you'd be here, too." The blue 'hog ignored him.

"Who are you?" he asked the woman.

"People call me Pine," she sang. Two other policewomen stepped out behind her.

"Pine!" they echoed.

"Eastern Venus Space Police..."

"Geez, I asked you to tell me your name!" said Sonic, disgusted. "Not sing me a song!"

Ulala quickly stepped between them. "He's with me," she explained.

"Is the other animal with you, too?" Pine asked suspiciously. "He and the blue 'hog seem to know each other!"

Ulala glanced at Sonic, equally confused.

"Knux here is an ol' friend of mine!" said Sonic cheerfully, throwing one arm across the echidna's shoulders. "He guards the emeralds from the bad people!"

"Why?" Pine and Ulala said in unison.

"These things are powerful," replied Sonic, turning serious. "They fall into the wrong hands, and we're in trouble!"


	3. Chapter 3

After that scene in Cuneal, Pine had that emerald and another just like it confiscated. Knuckles insisted on guarding them himself, but Pine assured him that they would be kept under constant surveillance and be heavily guarded. Eventually he gave in and found himself wandering around the hallways of Space Channel 5, never speaking to anyone.

"Is Knuckles going to be alright?" Ulala asked Sonic one morning, concerned. "He's never talked to anyone and keeps to himself."

"He's always been like that," said Sonic, yawning.

"Doesn't he have any friends?"

"Me!"

"Besides you."

"Sure he does," said Sonic reassuringly. "He's just one of those people who likes to do everything himself, and be on his own."

"Like Jaguar," Ulala said, thinking of the Space Pirate reporter.

"Who?"

Ulala told Sonic all about her friends and past adventures, from her very first investigative report to her final confrontation with Purge.

"Wow!" Sonic breathed, awe-struck. "Sounds like you've been busy!"

"I have been," she replied. "But up until recently, everything's been dull and uneventful."

"Say, Ulala," said Sonic. "There's something I should tell you."

"What's that?"

"I don't think I'm from around here."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," said Sonic, taking a deep breath. "Knuckles and I... nothing's seems familiar to us here."

Sonic proceeded to tell Ulala of _his_ past adventures, the places he'd had been to, and the people he had met. As he spoke, Sonic grew a little bit homesick.

"Sounds like _you've_ been busy!" she exclaimed, echoing him.

"I always am," Sonic sighed. "Day in, day out, I'm always fighting Eggman and his machines. I never get a break." He sighed again and remembered a question he'd always been meaning to ask her.

"Ulala? Why did Purge and Blank waste all their time trying to force everyone to dance for them?"

"Don't ask me!" she shrugged. "I'm not either of them!"

"Why did Pine literally sing me her name? Why is this place dance-crazed?"

"Are you calling me dance-crazed?" Ulala asked him playfully.

"Sorry, Ulala," Sonic said sheepishly. "I didn't mean it like..."

His last word never made it out of his mouth; Ulala had teasingly pushed him off the bed. Sonic responded in kind by leaping on her. The two of them tussled on the ground, laughing.

"What's happenin' in there, Ulala?" said a man with wavy, black hair, leaning his head in.

"I'm just havin' some fun, Michael!" she replied, taking advantage of Sonic's pause to roll him over and pin him down. "Gotcha!" she told him.

"Alright, then!" he said, walking away.

"Who was that?" Sonic asked her as they both stood up.

"That's Space Michael."

"The guy you were telling me about? The one that took over for Blank?"

"That's right." She paused for a moment. "I'm hungry. Want to grab breakfast?"

"You bet!" Sonic said happily, dashing out of the door. Sighing, she ran after him, finding him in the cafeteria with an empty plate.

"I keep forgetting how fast you are," She said, panting.

"I keep forgetting how fast you _aren't_," He replied, putting a plate of food for her on the table.

"Thanks," She said, gratefully digging into the meal. Out of the corner of her eye she spied the red echidna taking a breakfast plate out of the cafeteria. She picked up her own plate and followed him.

"Be right back, Sonic," She told the blue blur. "Feel free to explore."

"Alright, then," he said. "See ya!"

Ulala quietly, stealthily, followed the echidna down a hallway and around a corner- or so she thought.

"I know you're there, Ulala," Knuckles said without turning around.

"How'd you...?"

"I'm a guardian. I was raised to be aware of what's around me."

"Cool," she said, awestruck. They walked in silence for a moment before Knuckles said, "What do you want, Ulala?"

Ulala sucked in the air around her rapidly. Rude, rude, rude! 'Though he probably wasn't raised to be polite,' she thought fairly.

"I'd like to know why you're always wandering around alone," she said.

"There's no rule against it."

"True," she sighed in annoyance. "But you never talk to anyone here at the station."

"I'm talking to you, aren't I?"

"That's not the point!" Ulala was really frustrated now.

"Then what is it?"

"You just seem really lonely to me."

Knuckles stopped walking and turned around to face her.

"If I had the choice, I wouldn't be here right now!" He roared. "Bet Eggman already has his greedy little hands on the Master Emerald."

"You mean the controller of those Chaos Emeralds?"

Knuckles' anger melted away into shock. "How'd you know that? Did Sonic tell you?"

"He did," she replied, "but I feel as if I had heard of them before now."

"In a dream?" Knuckles was even more startled.

"Yeah."

"It is possible..." Knuckles trailed off.

"What's possible?"

Knuckles took a deep breath before continuing. "...That the Master Emerald called to you."


	4. Chapter 4

Ulala couldn't help thinking about what Knuckles had said the day before as she climbed onto the Astrobeat Jr. His words were almost ominous as they echoed in her head.

_It is possible that the Master Emerald called to you._

'But why me?' Ulala wondered. 'And why are Sonic and Knuckles here?"

"Ulala!" She jumped in surprise, finally jerked back into reality.

"Yes, Fuse?" She spoke into her headphones.

"You're on in a minute. Is that hedgehog friend of yours with you?"

"Sonic's here."

"Good. I want to discuss something with him. Put me on loudspeaker."

She did what she was told, taking care to remove the headphones and gesturing for Sonic to come forward.

"What's up?" he asked.

"While you're staying with us, you might as well make yourself useful," Fuse told him. "How would you like to work for Space Channel 5 as Ulala's assistant reporter?"

"Do you really mean that?" Sonic and Ulala said in unison, both flabbergasted.

"There is no other job available," he replied seriously. "Knuckles took the position of handling the station's garbage."

"Sounds great!" said Sonic eagerly. "At least I won't smell like mold and rotten fish!"

With that, a click signaled the end of the connection.

"Alright, then, Ulala. Since I'm your assistant reporter now, fill me in on what's what!"

"We have more news on Purge and his Rhythm Rouges."

"Think we're gonna run into 'em?"

"It's likely."

"Will we fight 'em?"

"You bet!"

"That's what I wanna hear!"

"Same here," said a new voice. Ulala, Sonic, and Noize (who was handling the camera again) turned around. "I'm itchin' for a fight!"

"Greetings, everyone! Looks like we've found Purge!" said Ulala, like she was supposed to.

"Aww... already?" Sonic teased. "I thought we were gonna have to hunt him down!"

"Sorry to disappoint you..." Purge turned to him, smirking. "_Sonic,_ but I needed to find you ASAP."

"What for?" Sonic asked, puzzled. "Whaddya want from me?"

"Whatever it is, you're not gonna get it!" Ulala said determinedly. "We'll take you on!"

"_I'll_ take _him_ on," Purge loftily pushed a button on his hovercraft, and he and Sonic ascended way above the ground on crafts.

"Whoa! What a drop!" said Sonic, leaning over the edge.

"Don't fall off!" Purge's smirk widened. "Let's dance!"

"Say **WHAT?!**"Sonic cocked his head in astonishment. "I'm not gonna..."

**BAM!** A little black and red robot slammed into the blue blur, almost knocking him off the platform. A voice crackled overhead and a shadow fell upon the two.

"Sonic, this is Fuse," he said. "I'm flying overhead, but I won't be able to help you... much..."

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" he snapped back.

"Just copy what Purge does, and you'll do fine." Fuse's voice was far from reassuring, but Sonic replied, "Roger!" just the same.

"UP! LEFT! DOWN! DOWN! CHU! CHU! CHU!" Purge called to the beat of the music playing from one of the robots behind him.

"Up, left, down, down, chu, chu, chu?" Sonic returned uncertainly. After that...

Sonic was astonished by how easily it all came to him after that. It was if some power within him ("That's your dance energy, Sonic," Ulala later explained) was building and building with the music. He kept time with his opponent and even invented a few moves of his own.

"Impressive," said Purge in an empty tone. It was clear he did not like being beaten, but still knew when he was. He stopped dancing. "We're finished."

"Hah...hah... already?" Sonic gasped for air. "I was just... gettin' into... the ''GROOOOOOOOVE...''"

"Don't push it, 'hog," Fuse growled. "Let a _professional_ finish this."

"Come off it, Fuse," said Noize, noticing the tone in his boss's voice. "Sonic was great!"

"It sure looked like professional work to me!" added Ulala cheerfully. The craft Sonic was standing on lowered to the ground, while Purge's flew away.

"See ya," Purge scowled as he left.

"It's obvious we gained nothing from this," Fuse retorted. "Everyone return to the station."

Another crackle and the connection was over.

Sonic glanced at Ulala, anger welling up in his chest. "What's _his_ problem?" he asked her, ticked. She didn't answer.


	5. Chapter 5

Sonic woke up the next morning in Ulala's bed as usual. Looking down from the side, he saw her curled up in a neat ball with a small blanket over her.

'Guess there's no where else for her to sleep,' he figured. 'She doesn't have to do all of this for me.' He looked around for something to tell him the time, but all he saw was a low window with a view of space. He zoomed over and saw the expanse of Earth before him as the station rotated.

'Wow! Earth looks as nice as it did from the ARK...' Sonic snapped his fingers in realization. 'That's it! The ARK!'

He dashed and weaved his way through the station until he came across a large room with a very high ceiling filled with spacecrafts. He recognized one of them as Noize's ship.

'Hope he doesn't mind if I borrow it,' he thought, clamoring into the pilots' seat. He gripped the steering wheel firmly. 'And I sure hope I know how to fly!'

_Meanwhile, deep within Ulala's dreams..._

which were more of a nightmare. She was completely surrounded by blackness and robots. She recognized a few of them, and was focused on the ones before her. Blank TV and Purge the Great towered over her, several times larger than she remembered. She was terrified. And defenseless.

"Not so high and mighty without those lasers of yours, are you, Ulala?" Blank chuckled. "I knew I'd win in the end."

"You mean _we_" Purge corrected.

"My mistake," Blank amended, grinning evilly. "She doesn't stand a chance against us."

"I-I still have my dance energy!" Ulala said bravely.

"What good'll _that_ do you?" Purge laughed. "We _rule_ this space!"

"I beat you both once before! I'll do it again!"

"With your precious little friends behind you every dance step of the way," Blank added smugly. They closed in on her, laughing.

"Prepare to die, Ulala!" they cried in unison.

_Meanwhile..._

'I... can't believe it!' Sonic gazed at a mass before him in wonder. 'It's the ARK!'

The familiar space colony drifted along its orbit around earth, as it had done years before. Sonic directed the ship towards the colony for an old look at the inside.

"It sure has aged since I saw it," the 'hog remarked, taking in the rusted metal. That's when he heard it. Stopping dead in his tracks, he focused on the sound seemingly coming from the colony itself; a pitiful, yet almost silent, weeping. Sonic followed the noise to a room in the ARK. A jet-black hedgehog with red stripes sat on the floor of an otherwise empty room, his hands buried in his hands, moaning.

"Shadow?!" Sonic exclaimed in surprise, startling the other 'hog. "Shadow" leapt to his feet, poised to strike.

"Who are you?" he demanded. "Why are you here?"

"Shadow, it's me. Sonic."

A look of bewilderment crossed black 'hog's face, which hardened a second later.

"Impossible!" he spat. "Sonic the Hedgehog has been dead for 5 centuries!"

He inched forward a little bit, and Sonic braced himself for an attack.

"It is me, buddy!" Sonic insisted. "You gotta believe me!"

"Never!"

Shadow launched a rocket fast punch that Sonic narrowly avoided. The attacks were fast, but Sonic was faster.

'Left, Right, Left, Right, Left,' Sonic coached himself. 'This is sorta like dancing.'

"CHU!" Sonic countered. The unexpected blow dazed Shadow long enough for the blue blur to pin Shadow down on the floor.

"Relax," Sonic said softly as Shadow struggled to break free. "I'm not gonna hurt ya."

Shadow stopped struggling and glared at the blue 'hog.

"Why should I believe you?! What proof do you have?!"

Sonic smiled warmly.

"Come with me and you'll have your proof," he said.

_Meanwhile, in nightmare..._

Purge the Great and Blank TV were closing in on Ulala, laughing icily. They were about to attack when...

"W-what?!" Ulala exclaimed as a bright light consumed her. When the light faded, she saw a giant gem before her.

"Huh? What's this?" she asked herself.

''It is possible that the Master Emerald called to you.''

It was Knuckles's words from before, but they were spoken by a female, tan echidna sitting on top of the gem.

"Who are you?" Ulala asked her.

"I am Tikal," she replied, sliding off the emerald and smiling gently. "Have no fear. I am a friend."

"Where am I?"

Tikal beckoned Ulala to follow her with her hand, and then walked away.

"Wait up!" Ulala cried, dashing after Tikal.

They walked in silence for a moment before Ulala asked where she was again.

"You are on Angel Island," Tikal replied finally.

"This has _got_ to be a dream!" Ulala breathed. "This is..."

"Where Knuckles is from, yes."

"How'd you...?"

"I've learned many things in ten thousand years."

Tikal stopped walking and turned to Ulala.

"Your friends are trying to wake you," she said. "You must go."

"B-but…"

"Ulala," she smiled. "We will meet again. All will be told another night."


	6. Chapter 6

"Ulala! Ulala!" cried Sonic, shaking his friend awake. "Wake up!"

"Let her rest, hedgehog!" Ulala could faintly hear her boss's voice coming out of the headset on her nightstand. "She, unlike you, works hard!"

"That's alright, Fuse," she said sleepily, sitting up. "I was getting up anyway."

"I want ya to meet someone!" Sonic grabbed the arm of a black and red hedgehog and pulled him into Ulala's view. "This is Shadow!"

"Uh... hi," said Shadow uncertainly.

"Hello! Nice to meet you!" Ulala said politely. To Sonic, she said, "I'm starting to think that I'll be meeting all of your friends at this rate!"

"Maybe, maybe not," Sonic shrugged. "I wish I could meet some of your friends."

"You already have."

"I mean outside the station," Sonic insisted. "I wanna meet Jaguar and that girl you hate so much."

"I don't hate Pudding."

"Then let me meet her!"

'I might as well,' Ulala sighed as she looked into Sonic's determined gaze. 'He's gonna go try to find them anyway, and I don't want him getting into trouble with the police.'

"Fuse, I'll be back soon," she called to her boss. "I'm taking Sonic out awhile for some fun."

_____________________________________

Fuse didn't trust her alone with her "troublemaker" hedgehog friend, so he insisted that he come too. Ulala and Sonic boarded the Astrobeat Jr. and took off. After a while, Ulala glanced out the window at her boss's ship, which was hot on her tail, and sighed. 'What does he have against Sonic?' she wondered. 'It isn't like he does any harm.' She refocused onto trying to find Pudding and Jaguar. 'Pudding won't be too hard to find' she figured. Finding Jaguar, however, was sure to be difficult.

Luck was with her. She glanced out her window and gasped as the Rouge Ship-A-Go-Go, Jaguar's station ship, loomed past her ship. She prepared to send a radio message to say hi when Fuse exclaimed, "Ulala! Purge has been spotted! Grab the scoop before Jaguar does!"

"Roger!" replied Ulala, pulling the helmet of her go-go gear on. She quickly glanced at Sonic and said, "This is the only spacesuit I have. You'll have to stay here."

"I don't need any suit," said Sonic. "The vacuum of space doesn't affect me."

"Then let's go and catch Purge!"

Ulala made a sharp 180 turn and blasted after Jaguar's ship. She flew past him easily, with Fuse following right behind her. Straight ahead was Purge in his old disco suit equipped with a space helmet.

"Ah... Ulala, Sonic," he purred. "I hoped you two would show up."

"Don't you ever quit?" Sonic demanded as he climbed on top of the Astrobeat Jr.

"I don't quit until I get my way."

"Whatever you want, you're not gettin' it!"

"Oh yeah?" Purge smirked. A buffbot equipped with a stereo materialized behind him. "Let's DANCE!!"

Sonic had no trouble keeping up, just like before. Ulala watched the battle wistfully, remembering the final showdown with Purge. She wished she could dance with her friend. She climbed on top of the spaceship behind Sonic for a better view, and the moment she got there, another buffbot grabbed her and flew beside its master. Her guns lay forgotten on the platform.

"Lemme go!" Ulala struggled to get free, but to no avail.

"Ulala!" Fuse and Sonic exclaimed in unison. "Let her go Purge!"

Purge shook his head. "I'm tired of dancing now. Let's see how well you shoot!"

Shoot? With a gun? Sonic would never be caught dead with one of those. But his friend was in trouble, and he had no other option. "Let's shoot then!" he cried, picking up Ulala's abandoned ray guns.

"Aim sharp, hedgehog!" Fuse growled. "One slip up and Ulala's finished!"

"Roger! Let's shoot!"

_____________________________

'Dang!' Sonic panted after a while. 'How many of these things are there?' Would the wave of robots ever end?

"Up! Hey!" Purge called after a long pause.

"Wha-?" Sonic said dazed.

"Say 'Hey!'" Fuse commanded. Sonic was still confused. "HEY! HEY!"

"Up! Hey!" Sonic repeated. Pink hearts shot out of the gun ('Weird' thought Sonic) and hit Ulala, rescuing her.

"Super successful rescue!" she cried happily. "You did it Sonic!"

"Impressive," Fuse couldn't hide his amazement. Purge was shocked too.

"Amazing," he murmured. "I've watched you for years, yet I still don't know everything about you."

Sonic caught every word. "You've been watching me?" he gasped in bewilderment.

Purge sighed, then grinned evilly. "I'm gonna get you Sonic. Just when you think everything is safe, I'm gonna get ya." and with that, Purge flew away.


	7. Chapter 7

Sonic hopped off the platform ship before it even landed, and dashed around the station until he found Noize.

"Sonic!" said Noize cheerfully. "Did you have fun?"

"Far from it," Sonic replied dryly.

"What's wrong?"

"I need to know everything about Purge, pronto!"

"Uh... okay..." Noize booted up a computer and began researching. "Why?"

"You know how I'm not from around here?"

"Yeah. You're from the past."

Sonic did a double-take. "Say WHAT?" 'The PAST?' the blue hedgehog was further from home then he thought. But then, it made sense, remembering how rusted the ARK looked. And Shadow...

_"Shadow?!" Sonic exclaimed in surprise, startling the other 'hog. "Shadow" leapt to his feet, poised to strike. "Who are you?" he demanded. "Why are you here?" "Shadow, it's me. Sonic." A look of bewilderment crossed black 'hog's face, which hardened a second later. "Impossible!" he spat. "Sonic the Hedgehog has been dead for 5 centuries!"_

"Okay," Sonic said slowly. "I'm confused now. If I'm from the past... how has Purge been watching me? What does he what?"

"He wants you," Noize replied.

"ME? Why and for what?"

Noize sighed. "I _told_ Fuse this was gonna happen. Would he listen? No!"

"Fuse_ knew_?"

Noize sighed again. "Might as well tell you everything now."

**Flashback**

The galaxy has been saved. Purge has been blasted into space. Everyone's going home now...

Fuse hears static on his earphones and a menacing voice crackled on.

"You may have won this time," growled Purge. "But the war is far from over. I'll come back, and by then ''he'' will be ready to join me."

"Who's ''he''?" Fuse demanded. Purge only laughed.

"The blue one. The fast one. The one of ''infinite'' power even he is unaware of. Remember me..."

**Flashback ends**

Fuse had never been the nicest to Sonic. He never trusted him. Now Sonic knew why.

"Fuse never trusted me," the blue hero whispered.

"He was just afraid of you joining forces with Purge," Noize defended his boss.

Sonic gave his friend a weak smile. "Tell your boss he won't have to worry about me anymore. I'm getting Knuckles, and then Shadow's gonna send us all home."

Before Noize could say anything, Sonic had already dashed off. "Sonic..." he murmured before calling Fuse.

"What is it?" the director demanded.

"It's Sonic..."


End file.
